Psalm 1

lays the foundation for the book

Psalm 1 ESV

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

starts with blessed; hard to measure being blessed; not always in material things

we see it is best measured in obedience and not objects

gives 3 examples of what to avoid; wicked, sinners, scoffers

the way it is described is through our way of life; walks, stands, sits; getting counsel, sitting, standing with(deal with who we surround ourselves with); who we surround ourselves with says a lot about the direction we want to head in

so, if the blessed man needs to avoid these things, then what should he be doing

delight in the law of the lord and meditate on it day and night

How much do you know about God that you have learned from reading scripture for yourself?

delight - to take great pleasure in something

if we are delighting in the law of the Lord, we love it; if we love something, we must know it; to know something, we must study it

the idea of meditate on it day and night indicates this idea of being somewhat of a scholar(not expert); like when you take your car to mechanic, you expect them to be proficient in engine work

the growing Christian should be learning proficiency of God’s law and delighting in it;

So what happens when we do that?

v. 3 - he is like a tree that is planted by a stream and yields fruit(beautiful picture)

If the tree does not have a source of water, it will not yield fruit; if we are to be like trees, we must have a source of water and that is the living water; we go to God’s word to grow just like a tree soaks up the water from the stream

Also, what we should realize as believers, the tree does not produce fruit for itself

It gives its fruit to others; how are you giving to others; the christian life is one of giving

but if you are wicked, you are worried about that; chaff that the wind drives away;

when you grow wheat, you only want the wheat berries; they would take it and shake it down and the wind would take out the parts that weren’t meant to be there; the chaff(what gets taken by the wind) represents the wicked

reminder that if you are taken by every little thing, maybe you need to evaluate how wicked you might be

in v. 5-6, the author lays out what the outcomes will be for each(wicked and the blessed)

wicked - will not stand in judgment; pointing to the final judgment; no access or admission

blessed - get to enjoy being in the congregation of the righteous

why? God knows the righteous but the wicked will perish

What can we do with this Psalm?

evaluate our love for the law of the Lord - a lot of talk about our governmental laws and what they should mean. The Christian should love God’s law(word). Not just parts of it but all of it. Not just what makes us comfortable but even the things that make us uncomfortable. I heard someone say one time that if the bible is not offending you then you aren’t reading it enough. God’s word will mold us and shape us because of our love for it.

evaluate our fruit - what are we growing so that others can eat from it. The Christian life is one of giving and of service. Not just inside the walls of the church, but in our community. What are we doing for others? We all have some sort of talents. How can you fix meals for others, fix things around other peoples homes, or even just sit down and be an ear and a word of advice to someone. But we cannot bear fruit without being watered. Make sure God is nourishing you to give to others.

Don’t be blow away by the wind - protect ourselves from being blown away by the wind like the chaff. If we are, then we cannot be a tree that is planted in the ground. Stand firm and don’t be moved